If we drop an object near the surface of the Earth, it falls towards the surface with constant acceleration, g. This means that, as it falls, it speeds up (specifically, its speed increases by 9.8 m/s for each second it is falling). If we measure the distance fallen, we find that the object has dropped 4.9 meters after 1 second, 18.6 m after 2 sec, 44.1 m after 3 sec, etc. The equation for the distance fallen after t seconds is
